The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Aspects of the invention relate to a conveyor comprising two helical conveying tracks located at a distance from each other and a bridging track which connects the two helical conveying tracks to each other such that products can be transported upwardly via one helical conveying track, then via the bridging track to the other helical conveying track and subsequently downwardly via the other helical conveying track.
Such a conveyor is known as a so-called portal conveyor. The known conveyor comprises two helical conveying tracks, each of them being provided with a driveable endless conveyor belt and a horizontal bridging track which is also provided with a driveable endless conveyor belt. Since the helical conveying tracks are located at a distance from each other and the bridging track is located at a certain height there is a passage through the conveyor. The passage provides the possibility to pass another transport through the conveyor, for example, without obstructing the product flow in the conveyor. The known conveyor appears to be less suitable for conveying small and/or less stable products.